Visitors' Comments about:

I was at a concert/poetry reading tonight in Hollywood. Actor Harry Dean Stanton read many Bukowski poems and began to weep when reading this one. I almost weep, do you?

yes

2002-05-09

Added by: Gabu

this poem makes me weep -- makes me crack and fall and rise up again. it is more raw than raw.

Bluebird

2002-08-17

Added by: Hannah

It makes me weep too, every time I read it. I start getting fluttery when the bluebird comes out and sings and by the end of the poem, my eyes are shining tears.

2003-07-17

Added by: gagz

goddamnit!!! what other macho man besides me hasn't felt this way. us macho men are too strong to give in to the bluebirds song. but that chirping fucker has kept us many, many a night.

2003-08-21

Added by: Scott McConnell

stop thinking of this as a macho poem. Bukowski was far from it, read any number of his words and you can clearly see that. He speaks not of machismo, but of the fears that reside in all of us. He keeps the bluebird caged not our of manly courage but out of fear. To miss that is to miss everything about life.

bluebird

2003-09-02

Added by: max torres

well said scott mcconnel. to think that our man bukowski wrote out of machismo is missing the point entirely.
this has always been one of my favorite poems by bukowski, you can feel it as it's read.

bluebird

2003-09-15

Added by: paul in liverpool

i read this poem and i couldnt speak for what seemed like eternity.
bukowski shows his full,emotional beauty in this poem but also holds on to his machismo dignity.
so i believe there is an element of machismo in this poem, but that is to mask the true identity of his beauty

Hmm

2003-11-28

Added by: Jack Fallon

I just think it would hurt to have some kind of bird pecking away inside my chest. But, at least its not a chicken.

EVOLVE

2003-12-07

Added by: Little Boy

Bukowski set the modern standard for poetry into the 21st century with many of his poems. This one is by far the best contender for that prize. EVOLVE poetry.

love it

2003-12-22

Added by: Katey

I love how he's speaking like a child telling a secret...such an innocent voice. He tops this so nicely at the end with "do you?" Perfect. This is one of the greatest poems ever. It makes me shiver and only the greatest poems can do that.